Don't Hate The Player...(O'Dell)

[Syrus The Entertainer]

The scene was now the United Center in the "Windy City" and the stage was the Soul Survivor PPV. The introductory pyrotechnics had subsided and the capacity crowd was on their feet, exploding off in anticipation for another big XWA PPV extravaganza.

Matt: It's a sold out crowd here in Chicago for the 3rd annual XWA SOUL SURVIVOR!!! On tap, one of the most epic cards in XWA history, topped off by the Soul Survivor gauntlet match itself. At stake for one man...a spot in the Last Dance at XGAMES3 for the World Title!

Buzz: And speaking of epic and World Titles, tonight...arguably the two biggest names in the XWA today face off for the XWA World Title when "The Franchise" Scott O'Dell challenges Syrus The Entertainer!

Matt: Yeah, and that's just the tip of the iceberg. TakeDown GM Mike Roach and Diamond Commissioner Sarah Warfield have a major announcement tonight as well...on top of lots more action that only the XWA can provide. I just can't wait for this show to begin...

And it does, with a familiar question to the Chicago crowd...

"Can you dig it?"

"CAN YOU DIG IT!?"

"CAAAAAAAAN YOOOOOOOOOOOU DIGGIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT!!!"

...and the fans come unglued as the show begins with an appearance by current XWA World Champion. Syrus steps out with the title belt in tow on his shoulders, but not in one of his stylish purple get-ups. No, the man was dressed for action as he walked the aisle down to the ring, high fiving the fans along the way.

Tony: And we kick things off tonight with the World Champion, and more importantly, Overload's newest acquisition, STE!!! That's right folks, Syrus is now a member of the Overload roster, and we're more than delighted to have him!

Willy: XWA's #1 star on XWA's #1 show!!! It was just a matter of time before 2 and 2 were put together. Sorry Matt & Buzz...

Matt: Well, be that as it may, it'd be hard now to not say that Syrus is not only the top draw, but maybe...just maybe...the best performer in the XWA. If you look at how he finished off that 6 Man Tag match on Overload this past week, you'd have a valid point. Tonight though, another test...against a man who has a chance to make history in become XWA's first three time World Champion.


And you say Chi-City...WHAT'S...REALLY...GOOOD!?

(pauses for a pop)

I'll tell you what's good...right about now...that would be me! I'm not just good baby, I'm not just hot...I'M ON FIYIYIYAAAAAAAAH!!!

Another huge response from the crowd warrants another pause by Syrus as he took it all in, adjusting the belt onto his shoulder.

Now, in case ya'll didn't hear already, the STE is now on Overload. I guess they thought that having me and Sylk on one show was just too much "star power" huh? Now...do you know what that means, folks? I'll tell ya...it means that the spotlight just now official got stolen from Upper Echelon!

It's right here in the middle of this ring, shining down on me!

Syrus snapped his finger, and suddenly, the lights dimmed down low, all but for a purple spotlight that did indeed shine into the ring on the champ.

Much better. Now tonight, I'm in here with the guy who a lot of people would say is the front man of UE...one Scott O'Dell. He earned his shot in Iraq, and tonight he has his chance to become the first ever three time XWA champion.

All you gotta do Scotty, is pin a man...the one man in all of the XWA...that's got more heat than you can ever imagine! I thought I told you already Scotty, you ain't the man no more! XWA's got a new face, and dayum does it look good! ;D Now every time they mention you and me, all you do is bring up that *ahem* "fluke" of a Fight To The Finish match. There's been a whole helluva lot more matches after that though, Scott.

There's that tag match with that Darius dude...where the hell did he go anyway?

There's XG2, where I eliminated you to win this very championship!

And there's last week, where I paid you and your boys back for trying to punk me out by droppin' you like TWO bad habits!

Tony: Second to him defending the title against MVS, that had to be his most impressive win this season.

So now, it just you and me once again, with this World Title hanging in the balance. Convenient that it happens here at Soul Survivor, cuz this here is literally where it all began. Last year, I won and rode that momentum all the way to the championship, and one year later, I'm putting it up for grabs against the second biggest star in the entire XWA!!!

That's the way it should be Scott...only one of us is gonna be the undisputed #1. Whoever wins this is gonna be a "sole" survivor in his own right, and you better bet your bottom damn dollar that it's gonna be... the S-T-E!!!

The fans cheered behind their guy, but those quickly turned into boos when the challenger's theme began to play.

[scott]

It wouldn't take long for O'Dell to appear in response. As his entrance theme cues up, the mood of the building changes drastically...

Tony: Here comes "The man you love to hate." And with good reason to boot.

Scott does waste any time making his way to the ring. After calling for a mic of his own, his music fades out, and he replies to the previous words of STE.

Let me get this straight. You score a few lucky wins over me and win the World Title at XGames, and all of a sudden you're the #1 guy in XWA? Pardon me while I try my damnedest not to laugh in your face, because that's about as big a joke as that gawdy outfit you're rockin'. Now I'll admit, you've had yourself a nice lil' run here in XWA. But to call yourself the #1 superstar? Damn...you've got a bigger ego then ANY of us do. You see Syrus, the fact of the matter is that you'll never be as big as me. No matter how many times you beat me, no matter how many titles you win, and no matter how many times you stand in front of the mirror in the morning and say "I'm number 1...I'm number 1...I'm number." It takes more then just a few wins and a World Title run to do that. And as far as our careers go? You're just doesn't stack up. Let's back track a bit shall we? When you burst onto the scene here in XWA, you were sporting Power Rangers outfit, riding the jock straps of my old buddy Brent Starr & Jon Payne. Feeding off of their heat to make yourself into a somebody. Then 2008 rolls around and you switch it up to "The Entertainer". All flash, glitz, glamor and pzazz. And it's worked for ya'. Nice lil' string of wins over MVS and well, whatever else you did in 2008. But the biggest, career defining moment of your career...was getting in the ring with me. I know, I know...you're ego's gonna tell you otherwise, but facts are facts. No one even paid attention to you as a World Title contender before you locked horns with me. And beating me? Well...that put you over. And now here we stand. You're Mr. Big Shot World Champion, the 2nd time around.

Scott pauses and paces the ring some.

But I guess being Mr. Big Shot affords you the luxury of a selective memory, eh? Less we forget your 1st attempt to get the World Title, when you got your ass handed to you by Bain, just like I got MY ass handed to me by him. And in between you eliminating me at XGames and you picking the pin up last week, you forget that one on one match we had 3 weeks ago where I beat you five ways to Sunday? Of course you forgot that one. I mean, why would you remember that? Your whole thing is to come out here and whip these simpletons into a state of cheering, euphoric stupidity, nothing in that involves facing the brutal truth of things. And that truth is that no man...NO man...will ever be bigger then me in XWA. Ever. Because while you were still doing Indy shows for $500 purses, I was carrying this company. When the critics where blasting XWA saying it was "LXW 2.0", I was REVOLUTIONIZING the business. In one year I turned the wrestling world on it's ear, and three years later they're still trying to catch up to me. I've got wrestlers from other companies shaking in their boots and threatened to the point where they have to make anonymous posts on message boards to try and take a shot at me because none of them are man enough to do it face to face.

My career isn't governed by small wins and achievements like yours, it's defined by ground breaking moments. By things that have never been done before and have imitated like hell ever since. You're an "Entertainer". I'm a pioneer. A trail blazer. There'd be no XWA if it weren't for me taking shots at everyone and anyone when the rest of the roster was to timid to speak up. Hell, I almost got fired for it, but what did I do? Came back a month later and showed the world why I AM that damn good by beating five other men to win back MY world title. Sad to say, no matter who holds that belt, it'll always be "my" title. My stamp is permanently etched on the XWA World Title. That being said, I don't need to be #1...all I need to be is Scott O'Dell. That makes me better by default.

Scott lowers his mic.

[Syrus The Entertainer]

That's where you're wrong, brotha!

After yet another round of Scott O'Dell tooting his own horn as only Scott O'Dell can , Syrus calls it like he sees it.

All that doesn't make you anything but a man who found himself in the right place at the right time...doing the WRONG things. You know why you were the only one who was "man enough" to speak up on the XWA's behalf against all of the haters? Because everyone else was too busy proving why this is the place to be through their actions. They do speak a hell of a lot louder than words do you know...but what do you know 'bout that when week in and week out all you do is talk, talk, talk, talk, talk. Nobody's scared of you Scott, and nobody's sweatin' you neither...they all just want you to shut the hell up for once in yo life!

Matt: Damn straight.

But since we know that's never gonna happen...let's back track to that match up 3 weeks ago that I DID mention. Talk about short term memories, huh? The night you and your boys tried to make an example out of me. The night you supposedly beat me within an inch of my life as you would say to any one of the 1.5 fans and a dog who would care to listen. Last week though, I'd say that I was alive and kicking...and in being so, kickin' yo ass! See, if you haven't learned it already, you can't keep me down. You can beat me...hell, Magnus beat me badder than you can ever imagine, but in the end I'm always gonna make the comeback and take the spotlight I deserve.

You can believe that this is "your belt" and "your league" all that you want to...cuz you're the only person in this arena, hell...on this whole damn planet...who believes that humpty-dumpty. I don't know what make you think that winning Soul Survivor last year amd then the Last Dance for this belt "small" in comparison to simply beating your ass as many times as I did, but maybe we need to get you checked out by the docs before this match, cuz I think you must've been smokin' sumthin!

This ain't about you making my career...this is about your career taking a left turn on the road to your own personal greatness the moment you stepped in the ring with me. I don't buy your brand, Scott...but the whole damn world buys mine!

The fans agree.

Why is that? Because I've got the looks, I've got the heart, I've got the skills and I've got the drive to be the best in this business, and until someone takes this title away from me, that's exactly what the hell I am! I'm gonna show you the reasons why Scott, up close and personal. This ain't no TV tune up match or a 6 Man Tag...this is for the WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE...and you'll find out real soon and real quick that there ain't nobody who gets their shine on better on the big stages than yours truly.

But then, that would all just be another "small win and achievement" for me compared to the legendary career of Scott O'Dell-who's done more for the XWA than even the people who sign his paycheck, right? You know something? I think I'd be able to live with that.

[scott]

With a small chuckle to himself, Scott replies.

And they say I have an ego. Do you even hear yourself? I mean seriously. If that doesn't sound like a man in complete denial, I'm not blond. "I don't buy your brand, Scott...but the whole damn world buys mine!" Maybe in the world of Afro Sheen and witty Sanford & Son 1-liners, but in the real world...the rest of us not only by my brand, they live in it everyday. The watch it everytime they turn on Overload. Everytime these peons hang on every word I say. When they tune in to see what low I'll stoop to next. That's the difference between us...among SO many obvious other things. You're a 1 trick pony. Always have been, always will be. You're a cartoon character. A joke by every stretch of the imagination. And even if it's not me that takes that title off you tonight, you're days are numbered regardless. And when that happens, and XWA has no further reason to protect you on MY show...well...let's just say you're going to wish you were still on the "B-Show". Because at least over there you can pick and choose from has beens, wanna bees and never weres. But on Overload? We're going see just how good...or bad...you really are. *Heh heh heh* I'm the last person you should be worried about. What you should be worried about is the number of red dots that's going to be pointed directly at your head, and just how many guys are going to be willing pull the trigger. Tonight, it's out of the frying pan and into the fire. And it's only the beginning of the ringer you're gonna get put through. So by all means, keep sippin' your own kool-aid, Sykes. It's gonna start tasting real bitter, real soon.

[Syrus The Entertainer]

Homebwoy...you make it sound like I didn't know that!!!

With a smirk on his face, Syrus responds...

You think I didn't realize that when they told me that I was going to Overload? With the Primos and the Jastas and the Bains of the world all in one pretty little package? Imma give ya'll credit, OL is home to some of the most vicious competitors in this business...but you know what that changes, right?

NOT A GOT-DAYUM THING!!!

He gets a huge pop from the crowd with that.

As far as I'm concerned, being Overload property gives the show something it's been needing for a long, long time. Personality! I mean, ya'll wrestle good and all, but I flip to watch CSI whenever most of ya'll are on the mic, cuz it's always the same old song over and over again. "I'm going to destroy you", "I'm going to show you why I'm superior", wash, rinse, repeat. You call ME a one trick pony? What ya'll needed was a brand new perspective to make things more interesting, and trust and believe when I say it's gonna get REAL interesting!

So say all you want about the red dots and bullseyes Scotty. Last I checked I wasn't the hardest man to spot in a crowd, so to you or to anyone else who may want themselves a piece...come and get it!!! Like I always say, when I get cookin'...the meal tastes MMM MMM GOOD!!!

Nodding for a moment, he adds this to his retort...

Now, you call it the "A-Show" apparently. Let's keep it simple then. Tonight, you bring your "A-Game". You make your case to just which side really is "superior", and who knows...you might get this belt for a third time in the process. Meanwhile...I'm gonna make my case...AGAIN...that blowing me off or underestimating The Entertainer is not the smartest move one can make. I woulda thought you understood that by now.

No troubles though, cuz tonight everyone on Overload can rewind this match and know exactly just who they're messing with!

And then, he waits for O'Dell's next reply.

[scott]

Scott raises his mic yet again.

Underestimate you? What do you take me for, one of the nimrods you've been competing against on Takedown? I might not like you, or what you stand for, but the fact of the matter is you're the man with the strap on your shoulder. Only an idiot would underestimate a man who's a world champion. You're the one who seems to be underestimating the entire Overload roster, let alone Upper Echelon. Go ask Finesse, Devlin, Ames & Vaughn what happens when you do that. You're in for a rude awakening my friend. Because you've ventured from the green pastures into the den of beasts. Where the only "entertainment" is seeing the next guy get broken in half. You wanna walk around saying you're #1? *Heh* We'll have to see if you can even walk period after we're done with you. You're fight is only just beginning tonight.

A smirk with evil intent follows. Scott waits for the final response.